No matter what your profession, it's easy to get caught up in the grind and lose sight of your work's legacy. Instapaper developer and blogger Marco Arment decided to renew his focus on work that would be relevant decades down the line.

Advertisement

My primary outputs, professionally, are software and writing. This is what I'm contributing to the world. None of the software I write today is likely to still be in use in thirty years, but if I write a truly great and timeless article, that could be valuable to people for much longer.

You don't have to be a blogger or developer to apply this advice to your own work. By considering which aspects of your professional output could impact the world years or decades down the road, you can find motivation to make those things truly great.